Franczek P.C.

Website: http://www.franczek.com/
Follow:

Latest from Franczek P.C. - Page 7

fran-og.jpg

IAASE recently reported that HB 3897 is currently making its way through the Illinois legislative process. This bill would expand special education eligibility to students through the school year in which they turn 22. Currently, students who have not yet received a diploma are eligible for services through the day before their 22nd birthday. Note that federal funding does not cover students beyond the age of 21.

We wondered, how many students would this impact and what are other states doing?

How many students would receive additional services? According to ISBE data, 306 students aged out during the 2018-2019 school…
Continue Reading Are Extended Special Education Services Coming to Illinois?

fran-og.jpg

As we previously reported, effective immediately, school districts must comply with ISBE emergency rules for the use of seclusion and restraint. To comply with the emergency rule, districts will need to take the following steps:

  • Adopt or Update Board Policy: Districts must have a legally compliant policy before using either seclusion or restraint.
  • Stop Using Seclusion or Restraint to Maintain Order: The new rule restricts the use of time out and physical restraint to therapeutic purposes or as a means of maintaining a safe environment, to the extent necessary to preserve the safety of students and others. ISBE removed

…
Continue Reading Update on ISBE’s Emergency Rules for the Use of Seclusion and Restraint

fran-og-2.jpg

The Illinois State Board of Education has filed emergency rules, effective immediately, banning the use of isolated time out in our schools. Like many of you, we were disheartened to read the Tribune/Pro Publica report on the use of isolated time out as a behavioral intervention.  While this is a change in practice that will require investment from all stakeholders, we know from our work in schools that administrators and teachers share the common goal of implementing behavioral interventions that are positive, affirming and effective for all students, especially the most vulnerable.
According to ISBE, the emergency rules will:

  • Ban

…
Continue Reading ISBE Files Emergency Rules on Isolated Time Out

Canva-in-service-214x320.jpg

When you get a request for a service animal in school, your mind may race with concerns. What if students or staff are allergic? Is the dog going to be a distraction for other students? Where will the dog relieve itself? Though these concerns are valid considerations, you might be surprised that in most cases, courts do not find they justify excluding service animals from schools.
The school context is especially complicated because school administrators cannot only think of the rights of the student requesting to bring a service animal to school. Administrators must also consider the needs of faculty…
Continue Reading Who Let the Dogs . . . In? Five Myths Busted About Service Animals in Schools

NPRM.png

U.S. DOL Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
On November 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule that would make it easier for some employers to apply the “Fluctuating Workweek” method of calculating overtime pay for certain non-exempt employees.Background
For those not familiar with the concept, the fluctuating workweek method is one way of calculating overtime pay for non-exempt employees who are paid a fixed salary but whose hours fluctuate from week to week. The fluctuating workweek method can be extremely advantageous for employers because it allows an employer to pay a non-exempt employee a fixed salary…
Continue Reading DOL Proposes Rule to Make Bonus and Incentive Pay Compatible With Fluctuating Workweek

With the number of students who identify as gender non-conforming on the rise, many educators have questions regarding the supports and services that may be available to such students. This year at IAASE, Jennifer Smith and John Swinney addressed this intersection of gender identity and special education, including factors to consider under Section 504, the IDEA, and the ADA. The main take away? Educators should be cognizant that gender non-conformity is not, as a rule, a disability. However, the emotional and educational impact in identifying as non-conforming may require school districts to provide gender non-conforming students with supports. Other important…
Continue Reading Gender Identity and Special Education

Concerned-teacher-at-conference-320x213.jpg

We had great participation in our IAASE session last week on this topic, with the audience voting electronically to weigh in on their anticipated outcomes of cases. If you missed it, here are our main takeaways.
When it comes to bullying and special education, districts face potential liability on a number of fronts, including lawsuits, OCR complaints, and due process complaints. To mitigate these risks, districts need a two-pronged approach and clear communication. First, districts should follow their bullying policies to fully investigate reports of bullying and take steps that are reasonably calculated to stop the bullying, prevent its reoccurrence,…
Continue Reading Bullying and Special Education in the New Decade: What You Need to Know

On October 17, 2019, Franczek P.C. Special Education team members Dana Fattore Crumley and Emily Tulloch presented at the IAASE 2019 Fall Conference on Fighting Friendly Fire in your IEP: Avoiding Internal Challenges to IDEA Compliance. This session provided an overview of common internal challenges that can sabotage IEP compliance. For a summary of this session and access to the presentation materials, keep reading!

We often think of challenges to the IEP as coming from the outside, but sometimes actions by school employees can create “friendly fire” that puts your IEP at risk. Examples include:

  • lack of preparation
  • failure to

…
Continue Reading Fighting Friendly Fire in Your IEP: Avoiding Internal Challenges to IDEA Compliance

Canva-Flat-Lay-Photography-of-Red-Anti-radiation-Handset-Telephone-Beside-Iphone-320x215.jpg

Our Partner Jennifer Smith asked an important question during the Legislative Update session yesterday at IAASE’s 2019 Fall Conference: What can Illinois special education teachers and administrators do to help ensure that the legislature makes necessary fixes to Public Act 101-0515—or as IAASE aptly calls it, “That Pesky RTI and Special Education Bill”—during the upcoming veto session. We gave you the lowdown on the demanding new law in a blog post earlier this year. As might be expected, the pending proposal to amend the law and remove requirements that were intended to apply only to…
Continue Reading IAASE Legislative Update: What You Should Do Now to Help Fix That Pesky RTI and Special Education Bill

Capture-656x505.png

As the kick-off to the school year winds down and daily routines take shape, we start to see serious student discipline issues pop up. And one situation that always leads to confusion is what to do when a student who does not have an IEP is up for expulsion and then the parent requests an evaluation or argues that the student should have already been found eligible. You know special rules apply, but trying to piece it all together can make your head spin.

We’re flowchart people over here at Franczek P.C. Let’s start with a visual representation of the…
Continue Reading Disciplinary Protections for Students Not Determined Eligible for Special Education – Wait. How Does That Work?

US-Department-of-Labor-logo-300x295.jpg

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its final rule concerning overtime exemptions. The rule increases the salary threshold for employees exempt under the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions (the “white collar exemptions”) from $455 per week (or $23,660 annually) to $684 per week (or $35,568 annually). Additional changes include:

  • Increasing the total annual compensation threshold for highly compensated employees (“HCEs”) from $100,000 per year to $107,432 per year;
  • Permitting employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments to satisfy up to 10% of the increase salary threshold; and
  • Committing to updating the salary threshold more regularly.

The new…
Continue Reading New Minimum Salary For Exempt Employees Takes Effect January 1, 2020

A speech pathologist goes out on unexpected medical leave. Three paraprofessionals quit in one week. A special education teacher is abducted by aliens and no substitutes are available. Sometimes staff absences are unavoidable, and they are almost always unpredictable. Shortages in special education in particular are making it difficult to find qualified teachers, related services providers, and substitutes and replacements when one of those professionals is unavailable unexpectedly. As we previously explained, a recent Illinois law (HB 3586) added notification requirements when a student’s IEP services are not provided. Although we hope that this increased communication and…
Continue Reading Don’t Miss the Boat After Missed Services! What to Do Under HB 3586

computerclass-320x212.jpg

With all the hub-bub about HB 3586 (more on that here!), you would be excused if you missed that another special education law, passed last year, went into effect this school year. This one is easy to implement. The law requires that the district post on its website and in its student handbook or “newsletter notice” that students with disabilities who do not qualify for an IEP may qualify for services under Section 504 if the student has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity, has a record of a physical or…
Continue Reading Opening the Floodgates? IL Law Requires Notice That Non-IEP-Eligible Students May Qualify for 504

You know from our previous post regarding recent legislation in Illinois, we have had our eye on House Bill 3586, which has been awaiting the Governor’s signature since June. Well, the time has come; Governor Pritzker signed the law on Friday. And there were no amendments to the law to address some of the areas of confusion that were identified after the bill was passed by the legislature. The amendments to the Children with Disabilities article of the School Code brought by the law are immediately in effect, although revisions may be on the horizon during the veto session.
Continue Reading New Law Adds Procedural Requirements for Special Education in Illinois

You would be forgiven if you can’t keep up with the many changes in the Illinois laws governing education at back-to-school time this year. As if Illinois special educators and administrators don’t have enough to do already, a significant number of laws passed or awaiting Governor Pritzker’s “John Hancock” impact special education. See the end of this post for information about the many Franczek resources on the horizon to assist with understanding the current education-legislation landscape. For now, we wanted to make sure you are aware of some particularly noteworthy legal changes relating to students with medical concerns and medication…
Continue Reading Marijuana, Medication, and Minors, Oh My! New Medication Laws For Schools

Jennifer-Smith-729-320x320.jpg

We all know that out-of-state residential placements are a big deal in special education, because we work in schools every day and support these challenging decisions made by school personnel. Now, the issue is garnering attention outside of the schoolhouse. A recent article by NPR Illinois highlighted the significant numbers of such placements, the potential causes of the placements, and the costs to schools and the government. NPR called on Franczek education partner Jennifer Smith to provide insight on this issue of importance to all members of the special education community, including schools.

The article states:

Jennifer Smith, an attorney…
Continue Reading NPR Calls on Franczek’s Jennifer Smith for Story on Out-of-State Residential Placements